This is an experimental release of a compatibility restoration patch for TribesNext under Wine.

To use this, follow these instructions:1) Install the game from the GameSpy Installer (as you would in Windows).2) Install the TribesNext RC2 patch on top of the game (as you would in Windows).3) Copy msvcrt-ruby187.dll from the archive into .wine/drive_c/Dynamix/Tribes2/GameData/ and delete msvcrt-ruby190.dll that is in the same directory.4) Overwrite .wine/drive_c/Dynamix/Tribes2/GameData/rubyintersect.dll with the one provided in this archive.5) Launch the game normally.

This patch reverts the internal embedded interpreter version to Ruby 1.8.7 from Ruby 1.9.0 (which deadlocked in Wine, stopping the game from initializing); it also modifies the interpreter connector to work around the finicky requirements of the Ruby 1.8.7 code (which prompted the change to 1.9.0 in the first place).

All of the patch features should be functional, including creation of accounts under Wine, logging in, joining games, hosting games, and so forth. Please report back if you have difficulties doing any of those things.

While this modified patch can be applied to a Windows installation as well (which is where I did most of the client testing), nothing will be gained by doing so.

I've been trying to test the patch on Linux, but I can't get any farther than the log-in screen for online.

When I try to log in, it says my log in name or password was incorrect. Even after having someone else make a new account for me, the same result. I checked and rechecked several times over that everything was correct.

When I try to make a new account myself, at Step One, it says "Please wait as the server status is checked" for a while, then it says "The server address has not yet been retrieved. Close this page and try again in a moment."

For the test I tried above, I used wine-1.2-rc1, because theoretically (and I've sometimes found to be true) wine-1.2 is much more compatible with programs.

However, it seems Tribes 2 is stuck at older versions of wine. I got through the log-in just fine with good old, long&tough-tested

wine-1.1.11

I have yet to test how long I can play online without an UE. I'll post again when I find out whether or not UE frequency is still ridiculous (it was usually at least 1 per map, with some maps doing them non-stop). Tell me if a specific UE number is important, as the crashes are often difficult to recover from.

As for the "your game is not running the patched executable" message, I got that too at some points, but that was just because of the .cs.dso 's. Use a DSO-remover and it should at least get rid of that. However, I think you'll run into the same hitch I did, so you might wanna try wine-1.1.11 or a similar Tribes-2 compatible version (I'm not certain of all the versions that work, myself).

EDIT: Played from 18:30 starting on map Mimicry, but it crashed at 18:48 on map Damnation with: "err:seh:raise_exception Unhandled exception code c0000005 flags 0 addr 0x3cd4d0" in the terminal, instantly, with no pop-up UE.

I should clarify that this modified patch version only fixes the Wine incompatibility regression introduced between the RC1e and RC2 versions of the TribesNext patch, when I upgraded the Ruby interpreter version.

The interpreter problem was a serious show stopper (game wouldn't launch), but certainly not the only issue leading to instability in the game. As I don't have source code to the game, I can't solve the larger problems caused by the differences in W32 API implementations between Windows proper and Wine. The most I can do is ensure that the code I add doesn't lead to additional problems.

Nil is working on replacements for the script based TCP sockets, which are evidently a big source of unhandled exceptions when running in Wine (and used heavily in the TribesNext patch to implement account server interfaces, list server interfaces, IRC, and soon browser/mail). When I merge those changes, it may improve stability somewhat.

As far as specific UEs, the only value of real interest is the address (in that case 0x3cd4d0), which states the machine-code instruction address that threw an exception. Unfortunately, without a full stack trace, and without the source code to the game, it's difficult (and very time consuming) to really do anything about the particular instabilities.

Sarcastic, narcissistic, genius, resurrecting the game with brilliant strokes of wizardry.

I'm sorry but it doesn't work for me. After installing Tribes 2 with the Tribes Next RC2a patch, I had to alternate between installations of wine-1.1.11 and wine-1.2-rc5, and I found that I can ONLY log in online with wine-1.1.11.

Whenever I try to log in with wine-1.2-rc5, I get that the password is incorrect and to check the username/password, even though I set it to remember the exact same password with wine-1.1.11 (and it consistently did remember the correct password with wine-1.1.11 and the log-in went just fine). Oftentimes, the game also freezes up when trying to log-in with wine-1.2-rc5.

I can NOT get past the authentication part, and it certainly won't allow me to retrieve the account properly either because "The password is not correct. Try again." So no retrieving my account and no log-in.

I'm sorry but it doesn't work for me. After installing Tribes 2 with the Tribes Next RC2a patch, I had to alternate between installations of wine-1.1.11 and wine-1.2-rc5, and I found that I can ONLY log in online with wine-1.1.11.

Sorry to hear it did not work for you as well as it did for me. I update my Wine version with every new release so I will post back how my copy is doing. In the past I have seen numerous regressions and later fixes as Wine has progressed so I expect occasional issues as I update.

(Thanks to Thyth for making the effort at supporting us Linux users BTW)

Sorry to hear it did not work for you as well as it did for me. I update my Wine version with every new release so I will post back how my copy is doing. In the past I have seen numerous regressions and later fixes as Wine has progressed so I expect occasional issues as I update.

Yes, we can only hope each new wine version will help more than it'll break.

Likewise, though I'm not usually so free. It still amazes me , as I've been wishing for a true Tribes 2 remake since long, and here it is, as Legends! But I'm wondering if it would be okay to take what was left over from failed Tribes 2 remakes, as at least RenWorks' Ascension released the code base for what they completed. Maybe it could help a bit? (Note, it might not be a good idea to discuss it here, in this thread... It's just food for thought).